The Bond of Brothers
by shnook35
Summary: Damon is determined to find Stefan and stop him from becoming the monster that he once was. Elena refuses to stay behind. Can they find Stefan? And will Elena find that she has feelings for Damon in the process? Season 3 fanfic!
1. A Brother's Sacrifice

**A/N: This fanfic begins the moment season 2 ended. It is going to deal a lot with the relationship between Damon and Stefan: why Stefan sacrificed himself to save his brother, how Damon deals with it etc. It is also a DELENA fic of course. This chapter is a little shorter than what I normally write, but they will be longer in the furture. I really hope that everyone likes it! **

My body screamed at me as I pushed myself from my bed. Katherine's words repeated themselves tauntingly in my mind; _He just sacrificed everything to save his brother._ The look one Elena's face as Katherine left her alone with me, the vial of blood, and Elena running out the door had been burned into my mind. I could still see the pain in her eyes even though she was gone.

Seconds after Katherine's departure, Elena raced out of my room. I could hear her car start up in the drive and speed off into town. I knew where she was going—Ric's house. She was stupidly hoping that Klaus would still be there with my brother. That she could stop whatever was happening now.

What was actually going to happen, if they were still there, was that she was going to walk into a death trap after we had all worked so hard to keep her alive, and I wasn't going to let that happen—or at least I was going to try not to.

Unfortunately, even though the blood Katherine had given me was working, it wasn't an instant fix. My body still ached and, despite the speed at which the bite was shrinking, it still hurt like hell. I definitely wasn't as fast as normal, and that was a problem.

Wanting to save my energy for any confrontation that might arise at Ric's, I opted to drive the Camaro instead of run, hoping that Elena would arrive to an empty apartment instead of one occupied by an angry vampire.

Within five minutes, I was parked at Ric's apartment complex and bounding up the stairs. My heart was hammering, preparing myself for whatever I would find behind the door to his apartment. What I did see was definitely not what I had expected.

The floor by the island was covered in blood. Bags from which I assumed it all came littered the area. The smell was strong, and I swallowed. My body was hungry for the stuff. It needed the strength, but now was definitely not the time.

Elena's cries came from the other side of the island. They were soft but strong, and the smell of the salt from her tears mixed with the blood on the floor. I slowly circled the counter and found her. Her knees were pulled to her chest. There was blood from the floor on her worn jeans and a piece of crumpled paper in her hands.

I took a seat beside her and tentatively put my arm around her expecting anger and blame from her. Instead, she leaned her head into my shoulder and handed me the note.

_Damon, _it read._ I was the brother who wanted this all along. I forced it upon you. You don't deserve to die because deep down you are the brother that loved life. I have always been the monster. Please don't blame yourself because you deserve the second chance. Take care of Elena._

"How could he say these things," Elena asked me through her tears. "He's not a monster, and this proves it."

I looked at Elena, not knowing what to say. She knew our history. She had heard stories from Stefan and I about when we had first turned, how Stefan had forced a girl's blood on me, how he had been the destructive brother for the first part of our new life.

What she could never possibly understand was the extreme difference between the Stefan she knew and the man Stefan had been right after he had completed his transformation.

His need for blood was insatiable. Whole villages where wiped out to satisfy his thirst. If she had been unhappy with my lifestyle choices when she met me, she would have hated the old Stefan. Whereas I killed to dull the pain of what I had become, Stefan killed to truly live.

It was Lexi who eventually turned things around for my brother. A friend that showed him that his life didn't have to be all about killing. Once she got him off the human blood all the time, he was able to see the pain that he had caused people. When he went completely to his diet of bunnies and squirrels, he was finally able to start to control his anger and blood lust… to an extent.

Stefan, unlike myself, craved human blood more than anything else. His abstaining from it was a constant battle—one that he fought because he knew that once on a strictly human diet, he would once again be unable to control his need for the kill. It was because of this reason that I feared for my brother and what he could become with Klaus at his side.

"Damon?"

At the mention of my name, I was drawn back out of my thoughts and back to the question that Elena had asked me.

"He says he's the monster because of what he was, Elena."

She almost shouted her response at me.

"That's what he _was, _not what he is anymore. The Stefan I know, sacrifices himself for others, even for his brother who doesn't deserve it."

Elena stood and walked across the room, towards the door. I remained sitting, stunned by her words. They were like a slap in the face. I was the brother who didn't deserve it.

I got up and was at Elena's side within a second, my hand holding her wrist tightly. She gasped and tried to pull herself away.

"I will get him back," I almost growled. "You act like I'm happy that I lived and Stefan's somewhere sacrificing himself for me. Well, I've got news for you, Elena. I had accepted my fate. You were safe and that's all that mattered. I should have died. Stefan should be here with you and not with Klaus. I'm the one who deserves that fate."

I dropped her hand from mine and walked out the door, shutting it forcefully behind me. It didn't stay shut for long.

"Damon," she shouted from behind me.

I heard her running after me as I descended the stairs of the apartment building and felt her hand grab mine. I shook her off and continued walking, not looking back.

"Not now Elena," I said in a low voice.

"Damon."

I turned facing her with a mixture of anger and annoyance.

"What," I snapped. "You've made it clear what your thoughts are Elena. What else could you possibly have to say?"

Her eyes filled with tears at my words, and I took some sick pleasure in that. Her words in Ric's apartment had been like a knife to the heart. I had already been thinking the same things but coming from her mouth made them even more real.

"I didn't mean it," Elena said. " I'm sorry."

"Save it for someone who cares."

I heard her sharp intake of breath at my final words and left her standing in the doorway of the building as I went to figure out how to save my baby brother.

**A/N: Reviews are appreciated:)**


	2. The Time Travelers of Mystic Falls

**A/N: After the amount of alerts I got for people following this story, I am super excited to continue! Thank you for your kind reviews for those who sent them in and thank you to all those that are taking the time to read my little story. I'm trying this flash back thing in this chapter. Please review and tell me how you think it worked out because I think they will be a big part of the story to show the "Bond of Bothers" that Damon and Stefan have. **

**Also, for those of you waiting for more Delena, do not fear. It is coming. It will be slow, however, because lets face it—she isn't realistically going to give up on her boyfriend so quickly lol. Damon's got a lot of work ahead of him, but we all know he can do it ;) **

**And now for the new chapter:**

Chapter Two: The Time Travelers of Mystic Falls

"Uh-oh. You're going to be in trouble Damon."

Stefan stared up at up at me with large green eyes as I held my father's broken pocket watch in my hands. Stefan and I had taken it from my father's room earlier that day. It had been my idea of course…the bad ones always were.

I had always admired the watch, and I had been told over and over that the oldest male in the family inherited it. It had been handed down to my father by my grandfather, and to grandfather by my great-grandfather. So in reality it was mine to play with as I wished, or so I told myself.

Today, Stefan and I had decided to play time travelers, and of course we needed a device to take us back in time to do that.

"I want to go to ancient Egypt," Stefan had pleaded. "I could be a pharaoh."

"No," I responded quickly. "We will go back to the crusades, and I will be a general. You can be my soldier."

My plan won out of course. It always did. I was the oldest at eight, and my baby brother, three years younger than myself, always fell into step with what I wanted to do. That was how I convinced him that we needed the watch to continue with our adventures.

"Won't papa be mad?" Stefan asked as we made our way quietly to our father's room.

"He'll never know," I whispered creeping past the room where my mother lay sleeping. She had been sick on and off since the time Stefan had been born and father was out speaking with William Hatchet about cures and medicines that had recently arrived from Europe.

Once we had the watch, we were teleported back in time almost immediately. Stefan and I played in the yard all day, swinging swords made of tree branches. I shouted commands, and he followed them to a tee.

It was all fun and games until I felt a crunch under my foot. My heart skipped a beat when I looked down to see father's pocket watch lying in the grass, the glass front smashed beyond repair.

"Uh-oh. You're going to be in trouble, Damon."

Before I could respond, the sound of father's carriage was coming down the path to the house and our nanny, Elizabeth, was calling us in for supper. I stuffed the watch into my trouser pockets, and Stefan and I ran for the house.

Once there, Elizabeth had us wash for supper. Father had brought Mr. Hatchet home to eat with us, and they were already sitting at the table when we arrived.

"Boys, how was your day?" my father asked as Elizabeth heaped our plates with a delicious array of food.

"We played time travelers, papa," Stefan announced happily. I kicked him from underneath the table and gave him a dirty look.

"Sounds fun, Stef."

My father then turned to Mr. Hatchet and started discussing politics. While they were oblivious to the discomfort in which Stefan and I sat there, Elizabeth grew concerned. She came to the table inquiring as to what was wrong.

I squirmed in my seat.

"I'm not hungry is all," I said, fidgeting even more.

It was then that there was a loud thump on the ground. I looked to see what had made the noise and saw my father's broken pocket watch lying on the hard wood floor. To my great displeasure, my father saw it as well.

I was used to seeing my father angry with me. It happened quite often. Not only was I the more mischievous of his two sons, but from even a young age, I had gotten into the habit of disappointing him.

He stood from his seat and grabbed his prized possession from the floor beside me. Through gritted teeth he spoke.

"What is this, Damon?"

I looked at the ground.

"It's your pocket watch, sir."

"And why, may I ask, has it fallen out of your trousers in such a state?"

"I-I," I stammered.

But before I could answer him, Stefan interrupted me with tears in his eyes.

"Because I broke it, papa."

I looked up in shock as Stefan took the blame for something that was clearly not his fault.

"I wanted it to play time travelers with it. Damon told me no, but I took it anyways. He took it so I wouldn't get in trouble."

My father, clearly suspicious of Stefan's uncharacteristic behavior, exhaled loudly.

"To your room, Stefan. You will not be finishing supper with us tonight."

Stefan scooted his chair away from the table and headed upstairs to his room. The rest of supper was eaten in awkward silence. I tried to excuse myself, but father wouldn't hear of it. Once the table was cleared, he gave me the toy horse he had picked up while in town along with Stefan's. My brother didn't deserve to be rewarded today, he told me.

I went to my room for the rest of the night. Later, I heard father tell Stefan to get the switch from the fireplace and he was punished for something that he had been opposed to all along, something that was my fault. I lay in bed that night trying to get to sleep but failing, listening to my baby brother's sobs from the next room.

…

Fifteen years later, I found myself at a pub fifty miles south of my childhood home. I had been a vampire for three years, and I hadn't seen Stefan in a little less than one. I had left him. I had tried to make him see the error of his ways, to make him see the child I saw when I looked into his eyes—the brother who had been my solider and I his general—but it couldn't be done. He brought women home with him nightly; they never left the next morning. It all became too much. I couldn't stand to see him in such a state.

It was, for these reasons, that it was such a shock when the man who sat beside me at the pub turned out to be none other than Stefan himself.

"Brother," I said in acknowledgement.

"Hello, Damon," he said with a sly smile. "Still brooding over your existential dilemma?"

I gave him a weak smile and turned towards my drink, opting not to give him the answer he knew he would get.

"So," I began. "I hear they've started calling you a ripper."

A smile spread across his face in pride.

"So they have, Damon. I wish that you would embrace this life that I have given you. Join me. If it wasn't for me you'd be de—"

"Happy," I interrupted sharply. "If it wasn't for you I would be happy, Stefan. I would be with mother if there truly is a heaven. And if there isn't, I would be in sweet oblivion instead of stuck on this cursed world with idiots like you."

My anger had gotten the best of me. I knew it wasn't smart to test Stefan, especially now that even some of the more influential of our kind referred to him as ripper. But, I didn't care at that moment.

I continued.

"What happened to my baby brother, Stefan? What happened to the boy who took the blame for the pocket watch all those years ago?"

Stefan's expression was stony as he reached into his pocket.

"He went back for your damn watch, Damon," he spat. "And he pried it from the cold, dead hands of an uncle who didn't deserve it."

With those words he slammed my father's pocket watch onto the table and walked out of the pub.

….

It was that pocket watch that I held in my hands as I packed my bags to begin my journey—a journey that I would not return from without my brother in tow. I ran my thumb over the perfectly smooth glass face. My father had replaced the glass on his next trip into town, promising me it would as perfect as they day he received it when it became mine. And it was. But it was Stefan who had given it to me instead. With our father dead and us leaving town to save our lives, he never had the chance to give it to me. It was given to my uncle Antonio when father's belongings were divided up. An uncle killed by his own nephew.

I shook my head of the memories that haunted me and carefully wrapped the watch in a pair of my socks before placing it carefully in my suitcase. It was the last item to be packed.

I shut my suitcase and locked it, putting it beside the cooler filled with the hospital blood bags. Then I got on the Internet on my phone checking flight 156's departure time for tomorrow morning. Five twenty am. I would by tickets there or compel someone else to give up their seat for me, but I would make the flight no matter what it took. I had to get to the one person that would lead me inadvertently to Klaus and in turn to Stefan, and I knew exactly where that person would be.

Before shutting my phone off and charging it for the night, I sent a quick text to Elena explaining why I would be gone as of tomorrow. She at least deserved that.

_I'm going to go find Stef tomorrow. You were right. He deserves to be here with you. I didn't deserve his sacrifice. _

I looked at the words I had typed out and pressed send before I could change my mind. Then, I sat down onto my bed and took a deep breath, setting my alarm for three. That should get me to Richmond in time for my flight.

"I'm not going to let you take the fall for me this time, Stef," I said as I turned out the lamp beside my bed knowing I would need all the sleep I could get.

**A/N: Can anyone guess where our poor Damon is headed? Guesses and reviews are appreciated! Remember to let me know what you think of the flashback. And don't forget to check out my other Damon/OC story!**


	3. Taking Dessert to Go

**A/N: I won't stall you from reading this chapter for long. I just want to thank those of you who reviewed last chapter for your kind words! I'm glad you liked the pocket watch story! There will be plenty more brotherly flashbacks where that came from. **

**For those of you who read my other story, you know that my Mac is currently sick. For those of you who don't…you should read it lol. I have an appointment to go to the apple store on Friday so no posts will be delayed! Yay haha. **

**Once again I ask you to be patient for the Delena. It is coming. Next chapter is all about them so don't fret. **

**Enjoy:**

Chapter Three: Taking Dessert to Go

"And how would you like your steak, sir."

"Rare, if you would," the man across from me said.

"The same for you, sir?" the waitress standing at our table asked me.

"That would be perfect…" I paused reading her nametag. "Jessica."

She smiled and took the menu from me, not breaking eye contact until she turned away to go back towards the kitchen.

"I think she fancies you, Stefan," Klaus commented once she was out of earshot. "Maybe you could take your dessert to go."

Klaus smiled at me from across the table as he polished his silverware with the cloth napkin, before folding it and placing it on his lap. Upon his mention of my using our waitress as dessert, my stomach rolled ever so slightly. It made me sick thinking that just a few hours ago I had killed a girl, a girl that couldn't have been much older then Elena. The thing that bothered me the most was that I knew I would do it again and again on Klaus's command until it became my life once more.

Klaus had insisted on Italian when we had gotten into Richmond. The aristocrat in him required the most expensive place in town. We were, of course, seated in the best seats and given the best service. Compulsion and good looks had their perks. Now we just had to bide our time in the city until Klaus's new warlock, James Harper, showed up tomorrow.

Jessica came back with wine for our glasses, and Klaus began to speak again.

"James should be here sometime around eight tomorrow morning to perform the locator spell," he announced. "The picture Katerinia gave you is still safe?"

I picked up my glass and took a sip of the red wine, cursing myself for wishing that it was something else.

"Yes," I responded. It was the second or third time he had asked me the question since we had left Mystic Falls. He seemed paranoid, but then again it was our only plan at finding Katherine, which he was hell bent on doing.

"Good." He smiled. "By this time tomorrow night, we will be on our way to finding her. She's going to regret ever crossing me."

His hand tightened around the stem of his wine glass, and it came dangerously close to shattering. Klaus must have seen the sadness in my eyes because he continued.

"Cheer up, Stefan! You can't tell me you won't want your share in the fun when we find her. The way she treated you and your dear brother. Katerina deserves everything that she gets. I'll even let you at her first."

"You're right," I said with a smile, but I was not thinking about Katherine. His quick mention of my brother, though unintentional, had sent my mind spiraling in a different direction, back to Mystic Falls where Damon was hopefully healing successfully from his bite.

It had been an easy decision to sacrifice myself for my brother; easier than I would have ever expected because for years I believed that I hated him. For decades, Damon had made my life hell. He did everything in his power to make sure that I was miserable. Over the past few months, though, he had started to change, and I saw my big brother in him again. It was then that I realized that I had deserved everything he dished out over the years because I was the one that had made his life the way it was. I had forced him to turn. I had to repay him for that, to show him that I was truly sorry.

One thing that had bothered me to no end over the past day was the ease with which I had left Mystic Falls and the one person there that I thought I could never live without—Elena. I could have refused to go with Klaus, let Damon die, and be with the woman I loved, but I hadn't. I had chosen my brother's life over life with Elena, and that choice had pricked at me since I had so easily made it. Not that it mattered now.

My thoughts were interrupted by the return of Jessica. She placed our meals in front of us, refilled our wine glasses with a smile in my direction, and started to walk away. Before she could leave, Klaus reached out and grabbed her wrist, twirling her around gracefully.

"Jessica," he said smoothly in his accented voice, staring forcefully into her eyes. "Stefan and I would like you to join us for dessert once we are through here. Be a darling and find someone to cover your shift while we eat, wont you?"

She gave him a blank stare and then her eyes lit up, turning to me.

"That would be great. I would love to."

She sped off through the restaurant, and I gave Klaus a stern glare.

"Don't look so excited, Stefan," he joked. "She looks delicious."

I had to admit that she did, but I knew it wouldn't take much longer for the constant thirst for the blood to overcome me completely. I was already having a hard time sitting comfortably in the restaurant with all the beating hearts around me. Slowly, the ripper was returning.

Klaus and I finished our meals with light conversation. He was clearly anxious about finding out were Katherine had gotten to in such a short amount of time.

When we were finished, Klaus dropped two hundred dollars onto the table and got up to leave. We had barely made it to the door, when Jessica showed up like a faithful puppy ready for a night out with the two of us.

Once on the street, Klaus hailed a taxi to take us back to the hotel at which we were staying for the night. The first thing he did once we got in was compel the driver.

"Take us to the Jefferson," he said. "Drive no matter what happens and don't remember anything about your passengers when we leave."

The cab driver faithfully put the taxi into gear and started down the street.

"I thought we were going for dessert?" Jessica asked, clearly becoming frightened by Klaus's sudden coldness.

Klaus then leaned back into the leather seat and put his arm around her, who was sitting between the two of us. She was starting to get nervous without any compulsion to stay calm, something that I knew Klaus wouldn't bother to do. He enjoyed listening to their screams.

"You know, Stefan, I think she's even prettier than Elena," ignoring her question all together.

He traced his finger down the girl's cheek and neck. She shivered.

I knew what he was trying to do. He was testing me, seeing if I had truly given up my life to follow him. I had to play along as I had been doing all night. I found, however, that it was getting easier and easier to do. Some things were even starting to feel right. I knew it was the blood making me think like that, but it was hard to keep remembering that's all it was.

"You know, Klaus. I think you might be right," I responded

I took Jessica's wrist and kissed it lightly. Her skin was so soft. Was Elena's skin ever this soft? I didn't think so. And there was no way that she had smelled this good.

As I continued to kiss her wrist, her heart pounded harder and faster, and I purposely pricked her soft skin with my teeth. There was an intake of breath from her and when the blood connected with my tongue my taste buds exploded in ecstasy. Why had I ever given this up?

I stopped for a moment, remembering suddenly that Klaus still sat beside me. I begrudgingly lifted her wrist to him offering to share, but he shook his head.

"No, Stefan. She is all yours. Consider her a gift welcoming you into your new life."

Jessica had started to cry softly.

"Please, please let me go. I just want to go home."

For a moment, I hesitated even though I knew Klaus was watching me expectantly. I thought of Damon and his pleading with me within the first few years of our new lives as vampires. '_Where's my baby brother?' _he used to ask me. The ridiculous thought of disappointing him crossed my mind, but I shook it off almost as soon as it came.

I looked back up at Klaus. It was he who clearly wore the look of disappointment. He thought I wouldn't do it, but I would prove him wrong.

"Thank you," I said to him. "Thank you for getting me dessert."

With those words I took a fistful of Jessica's hair and yanked her head back, sinking my teeth into her succulent flesh. Her screams filled the cab as her blood washed over my tongue and down my throat. The cabbie continued driving, unbothered by the crime being committed in his back seat thanks to Klaus's compulsion.

When Jessica when limp in my arms and her heartbeat slowed to a stop, my heart sank. Not because I knew what I had done was wrong, but because I was still thirsty.

"More," I growled.

Klaus laughed.

"Oh, there will be more, Stefan. After all the night is young and I'm sure there will be plenty of girls that will just adore our suite at the Jefferson."

It was at that moment, with Jessica's blood coating my lips, that I knew that this was the life that I wanted, and I was never going back.

**A/N: Ahhh! Poor Stef! Although I am a complete Delena fan… I can't help but love Stefan as well (Just not with Elena lol). What about you guys? Hope you liked the chapter. Reviews = more feelings of love = more writing from me! Hope to hear from you all. **


	4. Mr & Mrs Richards

**A/N: Hello all! Just a quick update in the world of my computer: all should be well. Taking her to the doctors today…but I may not get her back right away….so I am rewarding you (don't ask me why I'm rewarding you for my broken computer lol) I'm am updating uber early. I try to update around the same time every week, but I'm feeling nice lol. Plus your kind reviews will keep me smiling until I can get the computer back haha.**

**If you haven't already read my other update for my other story from today, I should tell you that I have a surprise for you all…. But you have to finish the chapter to get it! No skipping the story to find out what it is!**

**I will shut up now….Enjoy:**

The next morning did not start off as the best day of my life. My night had been filled with dreams of Stefan: Stefan being killed by Klaus, Stefan killing Elena, Stefan in pain, just to name a few. Then I had slept past my alarm, getting off to a late start with no time to down a little blood to hold me over until after the flight. So I shouldn't have been surprised when I opened the passenger door to the Camaro to throw in one of my bags and Elena came tumbling out. Her shriek pierced the early morning air, and I caught her before she hit the ground.

"What the hell, Elena?" I almost shouted.

I pulled her to her feet and spun her around to face me. She had sleep in her eyes and was clearly dozing off when I had opened the door.

" I got your text, and I'm coming with you," she yawned nonchalantly.

"Like hell you are," I replied. "You're staying here. I promised Stefan you would be safe, and I'm going to keep my promise."

"And how are you going to keep me safe if you're off trying to find him?"

"I—" Elena smiled, knowing that she had stumped me. She sat back in the car and closed the door. She was foolish to think that I would give in so easily. I threw the door back open.

"Out!" Elena flinched as I yelled. "This is not your fight Elena."

Before I knew it, Elena was yelling back, tears in her eyes.

"How dare you," she seethed. "How dare you say this is not my fight? I have every right to come with you. I love him."

"_How dare you?_" I repeated. "How dare you come here after what you said to me last night, Elena."

That stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Damon—"

Before she could continue, I cut in.

"Since you feel so damn entitled to get your way all the time you can come. But I'm telling you right now, Elena, you will obey my _every_ order while we are gone. If I say run, you run. If I say stay, you stay. If I say hide, you—"

"Hide," Elena interjected with a nod. "I understand the basics."

I gave her a dirty look, slammed the passenger side door closed, and circled around to the other side. Once inside, I turned the key over and the engine started. There was one slight problem, however. The gas gauge was almost on empty.

"You've got to be kidding me," I hissed.

"Bad morning?" Elena asked.

…..

Finally after filling up at the nearest gas station and grabbing Elena something to eat, we were on our way. We had lost about twenty minutes, but I was determined to break enough speeding laws to get us there at least a little bit early.

"Damon, slow down a little bit, please," Elena complained once we were on the highway to Richmond.

I sped up.

I was determined to talk to her as little as possible. It may have been childish, but I was still pissed about what she had said yesterday.

"Are you seriously not going to talk to me? Listen Damon, I'm sorry. I never—"

"Can you reach into the back seat and get me some blood from the cooler?" I interrupted. I didn't want apologies. Apologies meant that she wanted to talk about it, and I really wasn't in the mood.

She turned in her seat reaching for a bag and tossed it to me. I immediately tore the plug out with my teeth and started to drink.

"So, do you mind telling me where we're going?" Elena asked, thankfully taking the conversation in a different direction.

"Richmond International Airport," I replied between swallows. "Our flight leaves at 5:20 and we currently don't have tickets. Can you see why I'm trying to rush?"

Elena's jaw dropped.

"Tickets? Tickets to where?"

Instead of answering, I turned the radio on as loud as it could go and sped up.

…..

Once we arrived at the airport, I compelled our way through customs, pulling Elena behind me all the way. When we were finally in the main atrium of the airport, I breathed a sigh of relief. All we had to do now was acquire tickets. The flight was full, so I was going to have to get them my own way.

"I'm going to go buy a book for the flight," I heard Elena say as I searched the crowd of people for someone who looked easy enough to compel out of tickets. "I'll be back."

I handed her a twenty and waved her off as she headed towards the airport Borders and I made my way to the seats by gate 12. That's when I heard them talking.

"Edna, we don't have to go if your not comfortable with it."

"Oh, Arthur, what about the grandkids, and at the price of these tickets, I can't imagine letting them go to waste."

"The kids will understand, dear. They're coming back this winter for Thanksgiving, and you know I don't care about the money as long as you're happy."

I smiled—perfect timing. I approached the old couple whom I had overheard talking. They were at least in their early eighties, and Edna, as her husband had called her, was visibly shaking in fear: obviously a first time flier.

"Excuse me," I said as I approached them. I put on the best-distressed look I could muster. "I couldn't help but overhear that you're contemplating missing the flight, and I was wondering if I could buy your tickets from you if that was the case. You see my sister is sick and this is the only flight for the next week that would give me and my girlfriend the chance to go and help her."

"Oh my!" the old woman said. "What's wrong with her?"

"Complications with her pregnancy," I responded quickly. "The doctor says she should be fine, but the support of family is always _so_ important."

I felt a twinge of guilt telling my lie, but this couple had fallen so perfectly into the equation. Lying was at least a little better than playing with their minds.

The couple looked at one another thoughtfully and then nodded in agreement. I was their excuse to skip the long flight. At least they had something to tell their children when they didn't show for the visit.

"I think you need these tickets much more than us, young man," Arthur said to me.

"Thank you so much."

I handed them a wad of cash that they didn't count as they walked away. When they did, however, they would find much more than they had originally paid for their tickets.

"Did those people just give you their tickets?" Elena asked with surprise and a little bit of doubt in her voice as she approached. She had a sappy romance book in one hand and a pretzel from the food court in the other.

I smiled as I watched the old couple disappear from view.

"Actually they did." She gave me a skeptical look. I raised my hands in playful surrender, forgetting my vow to ignore her for the duration of the trip. "No compulsion involved that time, I promise. I probably saved that poor lady from having a heart attack during the flight, actually. You should be thanking me."

Elena walked over to the seats by the terminal and took a seat, still looking suspicious. I took a seat beside her and grabbed the pretzel out of her hand, taking a huge bite out of it.

"Hey," she squealed as she reached across me trying to get her food back. She laughed as I played keep-away for a few seconds and then reluctantly gave it back.

"You seem to be less mad at me," she observed as she munched on her returned pretzel. She said it jokingly, but I could hear the question in her voice.

"Ya, well I figured it was going to be a long trip, so I might as well have someone to talk to. I couldn't do that if I was still mad. Plus, I'm in a much better mood now that we have tickets."

"I am sorry, Damon," she said slowly. I quickly looked down at my feet. I really didn't want to talk about this. "You deserve Stefan's love, and I shouldn't have—"

"It's fine," I said quickly.

"No it's not. I had no right to say those things. I was scared and upset. I—" she said quickly trying to get it all in before I interrupted her again, but she wasn't fast enough.

"I know you didn't," I muttered. "It's just terrifying for me to think about how absolutely true the things you said might actually be—the way I've treated him so many times…"

"Damon—" Elena started, obviously not knowing how to continue

Wanting to change the subject, I cut in with the first thing I could think of.

"So what did you buy at the bookstore?"

"A book." She said slowly not really answering my question; still trying to gauge what was going on in head most likely.

"Hopefully it's a long one," I said cryptically.

"Why? Where are we going?"

As if answering Elena's exact question, a flight attendant walked over to the check-in desk and turned on the PA.

"Flight one five six is now boarding for Istanbul. All passengers please form a single file line by the desk to present your id before boarding."

Elena's mouth fell, and I smiled at her surprise.

"Damon," she hissed. "Istanbul?"

I stood and grabbed my carry on, beckoning for her to do the same and walking towards the counter.

"Yes, Elena, Istanbul."

"B-But that's in Turkey! Why in the world are we going to Turkey?"

I approached the flight attendant and handed her our tickets. She was about to ask for our ids when I stopped her.

"You have already seen our ids," I said to her, looking deep into her eyes. "They matched the names on our tickets and you're letting us onto the plane."

The young blonde looked blankly into my eyes and then smiled.

"I've already seen your ids Mr and Mrs…" She looked down to our tickets. "Richards. You may board the plane."

I smiled and nodded at her and started down the air bridge with Elena trailing behind me.

"Damon!" she yelled from behind me. "Why are we going to—"

I turned towards her walking backwards and smiling at her confusion.

"Istanbul has the closest airport to Bulgaria."

"Bulgaria?"

I let the word sink into her head before turning around to board the plane. As I did, I answered her burning question.

"Yes, Elena, Bulgaria because that is the first place that Katherine would run to."

**A/N: So I have a question for you guys, for next chapter in passing I mention what Damon listens to on his iPod on the flight and I don't know what to put. I think that he would be a classic rock kind of guy, but I'm unsure. What do you guys think that he would listen to? Let me know what you think, and I could use your suggestion on the next chapter.**

**And now for the exciting news… **

**A new story! **

**I know, I know. Your thinking: "How can she possibly keep up on three stories… let alone keep them straight?" I am actually thinking the same thing. But I was rewatching the last episode and a line that Damon says really got me thinking. What line you may ask? "You should have met me in 1864. You would have liked me." : ) Can anyone guess what it is about?**

**Anyways thinking more about it, I realized that it would let me explore some things that I didn't see any other way to address so it should be interesting…. Totally crazy but interesting. So please check it out. I'm posting it today! **


	5. The Game Plan

**A/N: I'm back and so is my Mac! Yay! I'm super excited to be writing again. This chapter is a little full of explanations about what the heck is going on so I hope it's not bogged down too much. I just had to fit it in somewhere…. I trust that you guys are intelligent enough to connect dots without Damon explaining everything, but unfortunately I don't think Elena is always that good at it. (Sorry hehe I really do love Elena though) So bear with me and you will get a really exciting chapter about what kind of havoc Stefan and Klaus are creating next week. Hope you enjoy!**

5. The Game Plan

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. I want to welcome you aboard Delta flight 156 from Richmond to Istanbul. Once we get airborne today, our flight will be approximately 16 hours and 40 minutes. We will be arriving in Turkey at six am their time. We'll get back to you enroute just as soon as we have more information; once again, welcome aboard."

"Miss? Miss?" I said beckoning the stewardess. She walked over in teetering heels. I could see down her shirt when she bent down to my level waiting for my question. Unfortunately, I wasn't in the mood to gawk. I cleared my throat. "Could I get a drink? Preferably your strongest."

"I'm sorry sir, but we can't serve anything until we get into the air."

She gave me a sweet smile as she walked away to buckle in for take off, and I rolled my eyes. I sat back in my seat and started taping my heel as the plane sped up.

"Damon?" came Elena's voice from beside me.

"Huh?"

I felt the seat start to lean back, and I unintentionally gripped the armrest on the seat.

"I asked you a question. Weren't you listening?"

"No," I snapped harshly. "I was busy trying to get these idiots to get me something to drink."

My snide comment surprised her, but then she looked at my bouncing knee and a smile spread across her face.

"Are you ok?"

She put her hand on my leg to stop the incessant tapping that she had picked up on.

"Ya, I'm fine."

"Are you sure because it looks like your freaking out."

"I am _not _'freaking out.' I'm just anxious to get to where we need to be going."

Unfortunately, I couldn't fool her.

"Is that why your knuckles are turning white?"

She giggled as I looked down to see that my knuckles where indeed turning white, gripping the armrest tightly. I lessened my grip so I wouldn't damage the cheap plastic. Her smile eased my nerves, and I gave in.

"Ok, ok. If you must know, I'm not the biggest fan of flying. When you grow up with horses and carriages as your main form of transportation, it's a little hard to trust something that is thousands of feet in the air."

"Damon Salvatore, afraid of flying. I would have never guessed," Elena teased from the seat beside me.

"I'm _not_ afraid," I stressed. "Just not a fan."

With those words, I beckoned for the stewardess again, and she came toting the drink cart.

While the alcohol wasn't as strong as I would have liked, it calmed my nerves exponentially, and I was finally comfortable enough to sit back and relax. I took a deep breath and situated myself so that I could hopefully sleep for the majority of the flight. That's when her voice sounded in my ears again.

"So, if we are going to find Katherine, how is that going to help us get to Stefan?"

I opened my eyes and looked at her with an annoyed expression on my face. It was an overly exaggerated look of annoyance, but one nonetheless.

"Elena, could you please hush for just a little bit? I didn't get the best night's sleep."

She gave me a pleading look I couldn't resist.

"All right. All right," I sighed, starting my explanation. "Katherine has been running for a long time. Back when she rudely invited herself to stay at the boarding house for a while, I found her sitting in front of the fire by herself one night. I couldn't sleep worrying about all the stuff with you, so I sat up with her for a while. She told me that she was tired of running and that she wanted to help us so that she could settle down, like Stefan and I had. She said she wanted to go home."

Elena let my story sink in for a moment.

"But she was lying about helping us," she responded.

"Yes and no," I said. "At the moment she wanted to help us because helping us fit into her plan of killing Klaus and going home. Katherine's longing to end the constant running from Klaus is her greatest desire. She told me that night that no matter how the battle ended with him, she was going home. The night she came to us with Klaus's blood, I knew that she was done playing the charade of the helpless, compelled vampire. She's desperate to go home—desperate enough to think now that Klaus has what he wants he's given up the chase."

"But he hasn't," Elena said in my place. She was catching on quickly.

"Exactly," I said. "If Katherine would take a second to think about something other than herself and her own happiness, it would be obvious to her that the first thing that Klaus will do now that he is all powerful is seek revenge on her. I'm sure you understand by now that as a vampire all emotion is magnified. We love more, we hate more, and, like in Klaus's case, we seek revenge more. Katherine made Klaus's life difficult. He had to wait hundreds of extra years to get what he wanted. He isn't just going to go on with his life and forget what she did to him. He is going to make her suffer."

"So when we find Katherine we'll find Klaus?" Elena asked.

"Not exactly," I sighed. "I checked the recent flights going from places near Mystic Falls to Istanbul and there aren't a lot. One left last night from Arlington, Virginia, with a Katherine Peirce aboard. Since she's been on vervain for days now, I'm guessing she's had a ticket for at least that long. Then there is this one, and the next flight doesn't leave for another two days from Atlanta. Since Klaus doesn't have the information I have and he obviously isn't on this plane, I suspect that he and my dear brother wont be leaving the country for at least two days, giving us a head start."

"And what exactly will we do when we find Katherine?"

"Use her as leverage of course."

I smiled as surprise spread across Elena's face. Clearly she hadn't been expecting that.

"Katherine deserves what ever comes her way, Elena. You just have to remember that," I said.

"And what if Klaus doesn't see Katherine as a fair trade," Elena asked. Worry clearly laced her features.

I hadn't thought this far in advance, although it was a very likely possibility. Would Klaus's need for revenge outweigh his desire for a ripper on his team? I didn't know. What I did know was that I was tired of talking about Katherine.

"I don't know, Elena, but we will figure something out. I promise." I reached out and tucked a stand of hair behind her right ear. I could see the worry in her eyes and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I was worried as well.

Knowing that it would do no good to dwell on the things that neither of us could control at the moment, I changed the subject.

"You should start your book. We only have a short fifteen more hours of this flight to go, and I would hate for you not to finish the novel you spend _my_ money on."

She flashed me a small smile that didn't seem to reach her eyes.

"Actually, I'm going to go to the restroom." She rose from her seat. "I'll be back."

As she squeezed past me, the plane bucked with turbulence and she fell into my lap. I laughed and whispered so that only she could hear:

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? We could join the mile high club."

I flashed her a mischievous smile and raised my eyebrows suggestively. Expecting a slap across the face, I was surprised to hear her heart speed up and color rush into her face. When she looked up at me, her heart rate doubled again.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," she whispered, her voice uneasy as she tried to make herself sound unaffected.

She pulled herself up off my lap and this time successfully squeezed past me into the aisle.

Once she was gone, I smiled to myself and pulled out my phone and ear buds. Hoping that Elena wouldn't mind sitting in silence for at least a little while, I found some music and turned it up, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes. With my eyes closed, I found myself thinking back to just a day ago—Elena laying beside me on my bed, her lips on mine—and I hoped that maybe her mind had wandered to that moment as she pushed herself flustered from my lap and escaped down the aisle.

A few minutes later, I felt her slide into the seat beside me and reach for her book. I breathed a sigh of relief that I might finally get a chance to catch up on some missed sleep. Not two seconds later, however, came the tiny finger poking my shoulder.

"Damon," she whispered.

"Elena," I copied, opening one eye to playfully glare at her.

"My mind is to full to read. I can't stop thinking about Stefan and what's happening and—"

I pressed my index finger to her lips to quiet her. My heart dropped as my earlier hope was dashed. She wasn't thinking about me and my lips on hers, she was thinking about Stefan just as she should be.

"Well talking about it is sure not going to help you stop thinking about it," I said. "Listen to some music or something."

"I didn't know we were flying. I didn't bring a lot to do and that includes my head phones."

I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

"Do I have to tell you everything," I joked.

I took one of my ear buds out of my ear and handed it to her.

"One condition," I warned. "I pick the music, and you can't complain."

She smiled in silent agreement and popped the ear bud in. I started my playlist, but instead of listening to AC/DC, I found myself listening to the sound of Elena's breath and her slowing heart beat as she relaxed and became more tired. Eventually sleep overcame her busy thoughts, and I was surprised to feel her body slide slowly into mine.

"Elena?" I whispered as her head fell into my shoulder.

When she didn't respond, I slid my arm around her small shoulders and kissed the top of her head smelling the sweet strawberry fragrance of her shampoo. At that moment, I realized that I was glad that I had given in and let her come with me because even though it might be dangerous, every moment I spent with her alone was a moment that I treasured more than anything else.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Thank you to MysticWriterGoddess for the music suggestion. Just a heads up: I started school again…poor me, I know. Updates will still be up weekly. I'm shooting for Wednesdays. I give you permission to message me or throw something at my head if I slack. Reviews are appreciated! **


	6. Harper's Magic Box

**A/N: I need to apologize for making this update take so long. I know that you are probably all screaming and throwing rotten fruit at me for making you wait. Hope you like the new chapter! I love writing evil Stefan and Klaus. It is so much fun! **

After an excruciatingly long ten-hour shift, I was more than ready to throw in the towel for the night and head home.

_Three more rooms and then I can leave_, I told myself, as I grudgingly pushed my cleaning cart to suite 301. Following protocol, I knocked and waited to make sure that the people renting the room for the night were gone.

When there was no answer, I wasn't surprised. I saw the two men that had stayed in the four-room suite leave an hour before. They weren't hard to miss. They were gorgeous and very private, which naturally led to all the girls on midnights gossiping all night long.

Now at 7:30 the next morning, it was my "privilege" to clean their room before the end of my shift. The rest of the girls giggled and continued their gossiping when I made my way to the elevator.

As I walked into the suite, I was amazed at the neatness of both the main sitting room and the two adjoining bedrooms. I was so use to people being slobs that I expected this room to show no less. I breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that the last two rooms of my shift would be as easy. I grabbed my disinfectant spray and headed to the door that led to the balcony hot tub that the more expensive suites came with.

When I approached the sliding glass door, I noticed specks of what looked like dark red wine on the glass. Grabbing the glass cleaner as well, I headed out the door preparing to wipe it up, but I never got that far.

The cleaning supplies in my hand clambered to the floor and a piercing scream escaped my mouth as I found two dead girls in the hot tub. The girls' throats were ripped to shreds and the water was still bubbling wildly—water that was deep red with their freshly spilled blood.

….

I sat and waited at a small café with Klaus as the early morning sun shone through the leafy trees that lined the busy street. He was anxious for James Harper to arrive even though we were still twenty minutes ahead of schedule. . Klaus's cool demeanor showed no signs of this, however. He sat calmly, drinking the coffee that he did not need.

"They'll have found the girls by now."

I smiled and took a sip of the espresso in front of me.

"Yes," I replied. "They were delicious weren't they?"

Klaus was about to reply when he was distracted by something behind me. He rose from his seat.

"James Harper," Klaus greeted, offering a handshake only to be turned down. "Please, take a seat."

The man that sat down beside me was nothing like what I would have expected. He was short and thin, almost rat like. He had a small goatee and wore a shabby tweed jacket. His eyes seemed to be constantly darting, like he had done something wrong and was expecting to get caught.

"Stefan, this is James Harper," Klaus said as way of introduction.

The man made eye contact with me and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Look Mr. Klaus," he said in a nasally voice. "I don't have all day. People to curse, families to ruin, that sort of thing. I actually have an appointment with a very powerful politician in an hour and a half, so let's get on with this."

I looked at the small man with amazement. Either this guy had some figurative balls of steel or he had no idea what kind of man he was dealing with. I was betting on the latter.

Instead of reacting like I thought he would, Klaus simply smiled at him and rose from his chair.

"By all means Mr. Harper. We wouldn't want to keep the politician waiting. If you would just show us to the place were you will perform the spell."

With those words, James rose from his chair as well.

"It's just a few streets over. That's why I had you meet me here."

Before he had even finished his sentence he was off, leading us down the busy streets of Richmond on foot. He turned down a few streets here and there and then finally turned right into a back ally. I could see the look of disgust on Klaus's face when we approached a dingy shop with a sign above the door that said "Harper's Magic Box."

"This is it," Harper said. "If you'll just follow me inside."

The inside the shop was even worse than the exterior. Crystal balls, magic powders, eye of newt all littered the walls in an unorganized fashion. Layers of dust covered everything in sight. An old woman stood at a cash register that had to have been from at least fifty years ago. I could see the doubt creep into Klaus's eyes and before I knew it he had James Harper against the wall by the cuff of his shirt. The lady at the counter shrieked in freight, but Harper stayed somewhat calm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said smiling a sly smile. "What seems to be the problem, Mr. Klaus?"

"What seems to be the problem is that I was told you were the best warlock in Richmond, and you bring me to a shop full of fake magic tricks for idiot wanna-bes."

Klaus was seething, and I could see that he was about to snap Harper's neck. Harper didn't seem fazed.

"You have a good eye, Mr. Klaus, a very good eye. But if you would follow me just a few more feet into the back room, you will see that this is no joke at all. You don't think I'm going to keep the real stuff out front for every curious person in the state to see do you?"

Klaus seemed to contemplate this for a moment and then slowly released his hold on Harper's shirt. Harper rubbed his neck and continued to lead us back further through the shop, past a curtain hung in a doorframe.

Once we were through there, it became obvious that Harper knew his stuff. The smell of authentic potion ingredients permeated the air and grimoires were stacked sometimes ten high. At the sight of the books, questions filled my mind. Usually they stayed in families, being passed down through the generations. It was highly unlikely to find even one or two for sale in a place like this.

"Mr. Harper, your grimoires, how did you get them? Do they belong to your family?" I asked as he led us out of the real shop and down a dimly lit hallway.

He laughed at my question.

"_Do they belong to your family_," he mocked. "Oh course not. They're families are dead thanks to me. I never said I was an honest business man, did I?"

I twinge of sadness hit me then and I didn't know why. Who cared if a bunch of witches were dead? It meant less for us to sort though and kill in the end. But taking something that belonged to them, that meant that much to them…

My thoughts were cut short when we entered a small room lined with candles. A mouse scampered across the floor and into a hole in the wall near the corner of the room. There was no furniture, just a chalked pentagram on the floor.

"You have a belonging of her's like I asked?"

At Harper's question, Klaus turned to me. I took the small picture of Katherine out of my back pocket and handed it over somewhat begrudgingly. I had liked to imagine that she had given it to me to keep, but it had always been hers. I had stolen it off her nightstand the day that the villagers had taken her into custody, scared out of my wits that I would never see her again. Now that we needed something of hers, I was glad that it hadn't been a gift willingly given.

"Ah what a beautiful woman," Harper said taking it from me and sitting it in the middle of the circle. "A long lost love?"

"More of a pain in my ass," Klaus cut in.

Harper laughed and continued.

"I see. A little revenge in store?"

When Klaus didn't answer, Harper turned to the spot on the floor where the picture now lay and sprinkled a mixture of powder over it. Once this was done he started chanting in what sounded a lot like Latin.

It was then that the picture of Katherine burst into flames, and Harper's eyes rolled back into his head. I started to move forward, to grab the picture that I had kept safe all these years, but Klaus grabbed my arm stopping me. Katherine's face bent and twisted as the old photo paper was consumed until there was nothing left but ashes.

Harper's eye snapped open.

"She's in Eastern Europe," he blurted out suddenly. "More precisely southern Bulgaria, headed north."

Klaus looked taken back, but there was a hint of understanding in his eyes.

"You're sure?" he asked.

"Positive."

"Good," Klaus responded with a sinister smile.

He walked to the middle of the room and scooped up a handful of ashes, pouring them into my hand.

"Thank you for letting us borrow this Stefan. And as for you Harper," he said turning to the man who was now on his feet. "Your usefulness has unfortunately expired."

Within a mere second Harper was on the ground, his neck snapped effortlessly by the man standing beside me.

"Come, Stefan. We need to find the next flight to Bulgaria. We also need to get the hell out of this dump." Klaus wiped at his clothes disdainfully. "I feel disgusting for having set foot it in. Oh and grab the grimoires on our way out. I doubt he will be needing them any longer."

As Klaus exited the room, my fingers uncurled around the dust that was once Katherine's picture. I let the remains fall to the ground and turned to dutifully and someone contently follow Klaus to Bulgaria.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you think. Also, I have a question about the series that I am too lazy to look up myself. Does anyone really know how Damon knew Katherine was still alive and that it was time to get her out of the tomb? Was it just coincidence that he was there bothering Stef when it was time? I could have sworn that he knew why he was there, but I just don't know how he knew. If anyone could let me know that would be great because I need to know for a future chapter! Thanks!**


	7. An Old Friend

**A/N: Thank you all for your kind reviews. Elena and Damon are finally arriving in Istanbul and problems are sure to ensue! The next couple of chapters are going to be a little short so I'm uploading them two at a time for the next two updates! Enjoy! **

7. An Old Friend

I woke up after some time with Elena struggling in my arms. Startled, I looked down to see her eyes still closed and her mouth moving as she whispered my brother's name. My heart dropped until I heard her next words.

"Stefan, stop," she whimpered.

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she continued to struggle muttering the same words over and over.

"Elena," I whispered, shaking her shoulder gently to wake her. "Elena, wake up."

At those words, her eyes tore open and a scream emitted from her lips.

"Damon!"

Once my name escaped her mouth, she was fully awake. The flight attendant came hurrying down the aisle toward us and nosey passengers turned in their seats.

"Is everything ok here?" the flight attendant asked.

Elena was busy wiping tears out of her eyes, so I answered for her.

"Everything's fine. She was just dreaming," I flashed the woman a kind smile trying to convince her to leave us alone.

I turned to Elena, who still looked disoriented. I took my thumb and wiped at a stray tear that was falling down her face.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I uh, I don't know. I must have had a bad dream."

Despite her attempt to sound unfazed, fear from her dream remained in her eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it," I offered.

"No," she firmly said, as she pulled away from me, opting to lean on the window now that she was awake. "I'm fine."

"If you say so," I replied as I leaned back in my seat, already missing the warmth of her body against me.

…

After a long flight, we descended into Istanbul as the early morning sun was rising in the east. The domed roofs of the ancient mosques combined with the modern skyscrapers in perfect contract.

"Wow, it's beautiful," Elena said from her position reading against the window where she had continued to sit for the rest of the flight. She had seemed to recover from the panic she had woke in and watched the skyline draw closer.

Once we were back on the ground, we fought the crowd of the airport as we picked up our luggage and made it back through security again. While we waited in line to show our passports, or more accurately compel people into thinking we had passports, Elena started to get antsy, asking questions about my plan of action.

"Damon, how are we going to know what to do now that we are here? We know that Katherine came this far, but how do we know where in Bulgaria she is headed?

I had expected this question much earlier than now, so I wasn't surprised it was being asked, but I would have much rather avoided it all together.

"I have my sources," I said, trying to sound final so she wouldn't continue prying. Knowing Elena as I did, however, I knew that it wouldn't work.

"Sources? Like, you know someone here?"

"You could say that," I responded. "An old_ friend._ I called as soon as I realized where Katherine was headed. My friend agreed to meet her plane when it arrived and find out where she was headed. Hopefully she was able to do it without Katherine realizing it."

"She?"

I smiled at the hint of what I wanted to pretend was jealousy in her voice.

"Yes, she."

"Oh," Elena replied nonchalantly. "How long have you been friends?"

At that question my stomach turned ever so slightly with unease and instead of answering her question, I issued her a warning.

"Listen Elena, don't bring too much attention to yourself when we are around her and keep quiet. It's best I handle talking to her."

Elena looked confused, so I tried to explain.

"She's the kind of friend I would have had before I came to Mystic Falls. She's going to find it odd that I'm traveling with someone we would have considered a meal the last time I saw her."

"Who is she?" Elena asked.

"Her name is Claire."

….


	8. Bless me Father

**A/N: Here is number two of the day! (Note: I just uploaded two chapters. Make sure that you read chapter 7, An old Friend, FIRST)**

8. Bless me Father

"Bless me Father, for I have sinned."

I stopped at the sheer magnitude of my sins as they weighed upon me. It had been two years since I had escaped to Europe, hoping to leave the violence that consumed my brother behind. After meeting Stefan at the pub in 1867, I knew that I had to leave him for good, and I boarded a ship for England the next week. Hoping the change in scenery would make my life easier, I was highly disappointed when things became worse.

Without the destruction that Stefan was causing to worry me, I become consumed in thoughts of my own life. What had I become? What did this mean for the rest of eternity? Until this point, I had been feeding carefully. Compelling humans to enjoy and then forget, taking only enough to take the edge away from my thirst and then letting them go. Very few deaths resulted from this method of feeding, but I grew more and more unsatisfied.

Alone on a continent I knew nothing about, the loneliness magnified my need for the hunt, for the connection associated with the feed. I fought the growing hunger constantly, not knowing how much longer I could control myself.

It was when I finally came to Florence that this control shattered to pieces, and it was because of this shattering that I was now here. I sat staring as the light from the cathedral shined dimly through the lattice on the door of the confessional. I could just make out the dim shadow of the priest on the other side of the barrier between us. His head was bowed in prayer.

"Father, I have been fighting this hunger for five years," I continued, pulling myself from my thoughts. Not wanting to cause trouble that I knew would come from divulging the absolute truth, I choose my words carefully. "I can find no release from the overwhelming desire that consumes me. There is no stopping it. I have pleaded to God repeatedly. I—"

At this moment I broke down. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I threw caution aside as I fully confessed.

"I killed a woman last night, Father," I choked through my cries. "It was not the first time, but it was the first that I did it with such reckless abandon. There was no carefulness. No compelled lies. Before I knew it, she lay still in my arms. The blood soaked her cream dress. She was so young…."

I could not go on through the hard, painful lump in my throat. It was then that I paused, waiting for a response from the priest, that the silence echoed in my ears. It was not a mere human silence but one so deep it could not go unnoticed by my keen senses.

"Father?" I inquired desperately.

There was no answer. No voice of reprimand or pity. No breath escaping into the stale air. No muffled heart beat thudding in veins beneath the surface of fragile skin.

I forcefully thrust the barrier of the confessional aside to find the young priest who had received my pleas on deaf ears. A clean, crisp bite mark stood out red on his throat and a thin line of blood tricked down, soaking into the black of his high-collared shirt. Had it not been for the injury that had taken his life, one could have believed that he had fallen asleep after growing tired of being constantly immersed in the woes of others.

A sharp breath caught in my throat. I back peddled out of the confessional as the sudden smell of his blood weighed down the air around me. Turning on my heels, I fled from the church until I felt the cool air of the night on my skin. Once out on the street , I paced in the darkness. Why could I not escape the pain that had swallowed me since the day I had turned?

It was in my despair that I first head her voice. Every word was smooth and velvety.

"You don't have to let it hurt this badly."

Startled, I turned towards where the sound had come from. It was in the soft beam of the gas lamp that she stood, her deep crimson hair as dark as spilled blood.

"Excuse me?" I asked, baffled by her words.

"Being what you are, doing what you do, it doesn't have to be this painful. You can make it feel good."

A smile laced her lips as she finished this last sentence, making her words seem almost sexual.

"You have no idea what you speak of," I growled.

She approached me slowly and put her lips against my ear, speaking into it with a throaty whisper.

"You would be surprised," came her voice.

As she pulled away from me the dark viens around her eyes betrayed the monster that she was. Realization hitting me, I looked from her to the church and then back again to her.

"You," I stammered. "The priest."

She laughed softly before speaking.

"Oh yes, Father McLouden was delicious." She paused looking at me. Continuing with a tone of bitterness for my disgust. "Don't look so upset. He was practically begging me to do it."

"How can you act as though his life didn't matter," I seethed. "You extinguished his life and now talk lightly about it?"

"Just as you extinguished the poor Italian girl's life?"

I flew at her then without thinking. The emotion from earlier turned to pure anger as she mocked my pain. As our bodies connected, she retaliated and sent me flying, slamming into the lamppost. Before I could rise, she was kneeling down to me. She took my face in her hands and brought her lips inches from mine.

"I can teach you to turn off the pain," she whispered.

I could feel the lump building again in my throat, but I spoke past it, not wanting to show weakness to the fiery vampire that was offering me so much.

"How?" I asked gruffly.

She smiled and excitement danced in her eyes.

"Come," she whispered. "I'll show you."

**A/N: Thanks for reading you guys. Please review and let me know what you think. I'm interested in your opinions on Claire : )**


	9. Claire

**A/N: Soooooo…. I started my student teaching experience today with teacher inservice! Wednesday I meet my awesome yet scary junior that I will be spending the year with! AHHH! While this is really really exciting it also means more busyness. Please be patient with me. I am a few chapters ahead so I am really going to try to continue to do a chapter a week! Reviews are encouragement (: **

**This chapter is a little short, but Elena gets to meet a certain someone! **

**Enjoy!**

…**..**

"_I can teach you to turn off the pain," she whispered. _

_I could feel the lump building again in my throat, but I spoke past it, not wanting to show weakness to the fiery vampire that was offering me so much. _

"_How?" I asked gruffly._

_She smiled and excitement danced in her eyes. _

"_Come," she whispered. "I'll show you."_

….

10. Claire

"She taught you to turn your emotions off?"

I could hear the dislike in Elena's voice already. I wasn't surprised. Elena was constantly urging me to become a better man, to stop shutting out the pain that had caused me to do horrible things in my past. It was obvious that Elena would not be happy meeting the person that was responsible for the way I was when she met me.

"Yeah," I responded. "So obviously she's going to _love _you."

The sarcasm in my voice was strong and Elena frowned worriedly.

"Don't worry about it," I said encouragingly. "We get the information we need from her and she's out of our way."

Elena didn't look convinced, but consented anyways walking quickly beside me after we made it through customs for the final time.

When we entered the main atrium of the airport Claire was waiting for us as beautiful as ever, leaning against the wall. Elena's stride slowed and she lagged behind slightly as it became obvious who we were approaching. Claire's bright green eyes bore into mine with excitement and her crimson hair lay perfectly past her shoulders just as I had remembered. The elmerald necklace that I had given her decades ago still hung from her neck—the only reason she could meet us here in broad daylight. She met us half way, embracing me and kissing me lightly just to the side of my mouth.

"Damon, I've missed you!" Claire purred. "It feels like it's been ages!"

"Thank you for meeting us here, Claire. It's been a huge help."

Claire smiled at me and then turned to Elena, eyeing her up. Holding her stare she spoke

"You weren't kidding when you said she looked like Katherine. Did you bring this one along as a little snack?"

Claire advanced towards Elena, and I protectively shoved her behind me, grabbing ahold of her hand tightly. Claire threw me a confused look, obviously not use to me befriending humans.

"Actually no," I replied. "She's traveling with me. Did you get the stuff I asked you for?"

Clearly put off by my behavior, Claire got snappy.

"Yes, but I don't understand why your so bent and determined to find your brooding brother anyways. I thought you would like him better this way, if he's becoming as fun as you said he was on the phone. "

"Just give me the information, Claire and we will get out of your way," I said choosing to ignore her comment all together.

"Get out of my way? Damon, you're my best friend, or at least you were. That is until you apparently started hanging out with walking blood banks like her," she said, referring condescendingly to Elena.

In anger, my grip on Elena's hand grew tighter, and I heard a tiny gasp come from behind me.

"Don't you dare—"

Remembrance of an early time flashed through her eyes. A time that I knew she could never forgive me for. A time where she had seen this all play out before.

Understanding hit her then and a wicked smile laced her lips.

"Oh my God," she laughed sadistically. I knew then that I wasn't going to like what was coming next. Knowing Claire for as long as I did, I knew her good and her bad and how quickly they could switch—her bad was about to surface.

"You're in love with her," she laughed combating the anger and denial that was surely in my eyes. "Damon Salvatore is in love with a human girl. What's next? Feeding on bunnies like your pussy of a brother."

I came at her then, undoubtedly drawing stares from the other people in the airport, but I didn't care.

"You don't know what the hell you are talking about," I seethed.

"Oh, I think I do. I haven't seen that look in your eyes since the day you found out how to get Katherine back." She turned to Elena then, whose eyes were as big as saucers at the confrontation before her. "History is obviously repeating itself."

I used every ounce of control I had at that moment not to rip her heart out in the middle of the airport.

She turned back to me, pulling a map out of her pocket and practically throwing it at me.

"Here's your damn map, Damon. The bus leaves in half an hour from out front of the airport. If you get off at the place I marked on the map you'll get to the hotel she's staying at."

She handed me the Bulgarian currency I had asked for and turned sharply to walk away, but stopped and faced Elena again.

"I would be careful with this one if I were you, Elena. He will most likely leave you high and dry just like he did to me."

….

I was still fuming when we were seated on the bus and ignored Elena's questions as I unfolded the map. Claire had highlighted the route the bus would take north into Bulgaria. A dot in the middle of the country was circled in red pen—Stara Zagora. According to the map, we had another ten hours on this bus ahead of us before we hit the town in which Katherine was staying, which only added to my mood.

While I studied the map carefully, Elena shouted at me. Clearly tired of being in the dark.

"What the hell was that about, Damon?"

"You don't want to know," I said as I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

"I beg to differ. She was pretty bent out of shape about something. What happened between the two of you?"

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves, realizing that this was going to take a good while to explain.

"We have a 'history,'" I said slowly. "A history that ended in a way that she isn't too pleased about."

Elena looked at me expectantly. Realizing then that she wasn't going to let it go, I continued.

"Just remember that when you are regretting hearing this in the end, that you asked for it," I said starting my story as the bus pulled away from the airport.

**A/N: So what do you think happened between Claire and Damon… I'm interested to know! Please review. Time is going to be short now and I need motivation! Thanks lol**


	10. Without Even a Goodbye

**A/N: So it is finally time to find out the past that Damon and Claire share. I actually loved writing this chapter, so I hope you like it! Please let me know what you think of Claire when you are done!**

Claire's legs wrapped tightly around my waist as I carried her hurriedly into the bedroom that we shared in our flat overlooking the Mediterranean. Her fingers twisted in the shaggy locks of my hair and she moaned as I kissed her deeply.

"Damon," came her voice as my lips left hers for a mere second.

Ignoring her, I kissed her again, biting her lower lip sharply. I was rewarded with a pinprick of blood. She gasped and a seductive smile crossed her lips.

"Damon, we left our meal half eaten," she complained through heavy breathing.

I grinned wolfishly as I thought of the young girl left in the sitting room, nearly drained of blood. I had compelled her to forget what she knew if she got away, but I wasn't too worried about that. She would most likely bleed out by the time we were finished. Right now I was hungry for something besides human blood.

I let Claire fall from my arms onto the bed. Taking my hand, she pulled me on top of her.

"I told you if you let another one go to waste you would have to make it up to me," she teased, running her tongue along my collarbone provocatively.

"Oh, I will do more than make it up to you," I whispered back.

I lowered my head and nuzzled at her neck, the soft skin tempting me. Her fingers, meanwhile, unclasped the buttons of my shirt, pulling it off of me, and then working their way down to my pants.

Pressing myself against her, I nibbled my way down her neck leaving drops of blood as I did so, blood that I willingly lapped up seconds later.

"Mmm," I almost moaned. "You taste _so _good."

"Better than the human girl downstairs?" she asked, knowing the answer that she would get.

"A million times better," I breathed into her ear.

I felt her smile against the crook of my neck then, a smile that turned into sharp teeth against my skin. As her fangs pierced my throat, I tangled my fingers in her hair and returned the gesture with a bite of my own. Through the high of sharing blood, I felt her beckoning to me then, her fingers splayed on my back, begging me for the thing she needed. I smiled against her throat and let her warmth over take me.

…

I woke in a tangle of sheets. The sound of the shower came from the adjoining bathroom and steam slipped out from underneath the door. I smiled as I reached up to touch the marks on my neck that were already healing. My mind wandered to the girl that was now dead in the sitting room. I strained my ears for the sound of her heart, but heard nothing. It didn't matter. Claire and I would just bring another back to the flat tonight and another after that. Our houseguests were never ending.

From the bathroom, I heard the water shut off and Claire step gingerly out of the shower. I closed my eyes to image the wet locks of blood red hair that hung past her shoulders. I had just made up my mind to surprise her in the next room when my phone vibrated on the bedside stand beside me. Groaning from the interruption, I checked to see who it could be.

Arlo Russo's name appeared on the screen. My breath caught in my throat as I realized what this could mean. All thoughts of the freshly showered Claire dropped from my mind.

Sliding the lock across to answer my iPhone, I brought it my ear.

"Arlo?" I answered breathlessly.

"Mr. Salvatore?" Arlo returned, clearly surprised by the speed in which his call was answered. "Uh, this is Arlo Russo from the astronomy lab in –"

"I know who this is," I interrupted, hissing each word. "What have you found out?"

"T-The comet is due to pass September 17th," he stuttered out. "The town you asked about—Mystic Falls—it will pass right over the town that night. I—"

"Thank you Arlo, that's all I needed to know."

I ended the call then, afraid that I was going to drop the phone, or more absurdly become overwhelmed in emotion that I hadn't felt in decades.

"Who was that on the phone?"

Claire approached me from behind, wrapping her soft arms around my torso. The silky fabric of her robe brushing up against my skin.

"Wrong number," I mumbled, lost in my own thoughts.

The bed moved under her weight as she made her way beside me, now looking me in the eyes.

"You're lying."

It wasn't a question, and there was no doubt in her statement. She had been with me long enough over the years to hear a lie in my voice.

"Who was it?" She pressed.

I ignored her question as I rose; grabbing my pants off the floor and sliding them back on. I should have known better than to do this. Silence only angered her.

"Answer my question, damn it," she shrieked. "Who the hell was on the phone?"

I rolled my eyes at her outburst. As much as I enjoyed having her around since we had met a century earlier, she really was a pain sometimes. The angry side of her was vicious, but nothing I couldn't handle. I was use to dealing with bitches, rather enjoying it most of the time apparently, hence the reason that this comet meant so much to me.

"Get over yourself, Claire," I sighed, moving to leave the room and clean up the mess we had left downstairs the night before. Dry blood was such a pain to get out of the carpet.

Before I could leave the room, Claire had ripped open the drawer of my bedside stand and was standing in front of me, papers in her hand before I could blink twice.

"Is this what the call was about?" she interrogated, shoving the papers in my face.

I looked at them then as I had looked over them hundreds of times. They were records of comets passing over North America over the past 150 years. I had pored over these papers frequently as Claire slept beside me, watching for the one that would beckon me home.

Obviously, Claire wasn't as oblivious to this as I thought.

"Claire," I started, wanting to avoid the monstrous fight that would ensue if this was taken any further.

"Don't Claire me," She seethed "You're still looking for her. After all these years."

Before I knew it, Claire's hand was soaring through the air and connected with my face. The force of the blow cracked my head back, leaving a trail of blood along my cheekbone.

Without thinking, I had Claire by the throat, shoving her against the wall. It took all my strength to hold her there as she was almost two centuries older than me, but I managed. My rage gave me the strength.

Claire struggle beneath my grip uncomfortably, and I felt the bones of her neck cracking with my strength.

"Don't you dare," I roared, not even bothering to finish my sentence.

I let her fall to the floor then, and I watched as she rubbed her neck. I heard the sound of her bones breaking back into place and I went to turn away, too infuriated to even look at her.

Before I could leave, however, her voice came strained from the ground.

"You're still in love with her," she said, defeated. "I can see it in you're eyes."

I turned to look at her, tears forming in her eyes for the first time in my memory. She continued, now that she had my full attention.

"You don't know how many times I have wished that I could see that same thing in your eyes when you talk to me, when you touch me."

I looked down at her then with no pity in my eyes. She had taught me to turn off the emotions inside of me and that is exactly what I did then. I knew in that moment that Claire regretted the efficiency in which she had trained me, regretted the monster she had turned me into because even now there was nothing reserved for her. No pity. No true love. It had all been for pleasure, for a way to pass the time, and she saw that now.

My one and only emotion was reserved for the love of my life—or more accurately the love of my existence—because I had never stopped loving the woman that had turned me. My Katherine.

Callously, I turned from the woman now weeping on the floor, the woman I had spent over a century with. I had to get that damn blood out of the carpet, before leaving without even a goodbye.

**A/N: So….. hate her? Feel bad for her? Love her? Let me know. Next chapter may be up a little after next Monday because I'm going out of town this weekend (:**


	11. Surfacing Fears

**A/N: Yes I'm back! Please hold the applause : ) My life has been hectic, my muse ran away, blah blah blah…. You get the drift. The new season has brought my muse running home though, so that got me motivated to start writing again. I promise this story will go on! Lol** **Thank you to all my faithful readers for staying with me and reviewing. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Don't be afraid to look back at the last chapter for a reminder of what is going on. I know it's been a long time. **

11. Surfacing Fears

The bus lurched to a noisy stop as my story came to an end, and Elena shifted uncomfortably beside me.

"That's why she was so bitter," I explained. "I spent over a hundred years with her almost always in my life, and I left for Katherine without even saying goodbye."

"Damon," Elena interjected gently, placing her hand on mine. "You were different then. You've become a better man."

I shrugged off her words, wanting to forgo the "better man" speech again. It was then that the door of the bus opened and two military men entered. Speaking Turkish, they gave instructions neither Elena nor I could understand. The other passengers started shuffling in their seats, grabbing their luggage, and exiting the bus.

Elena's eyes darted from the moving passengers to the men standing near the driver.

"Damon," she said frantically. "What is going on?"

Before I could answer that I didn't know, a woman from behind took pity on our confusion and answered Elena's question.

"They are border patrol," she said in a thick accent. "We get papers and bags checked before we go further."

I swore under my breath as I though about the things in my bags—bags of blood, vervain, and stakes—before thanking the woman for her help.

"Damon, the blood!" Elena whispered.

"Don't worry," I responded. "I'll compel our way through this."

I took Elena's hand tightly in mine, pulling her and our bags quickly through the crowd of people in the aisle. We exited the bus into the warm midday sun and made our way quickly to the baggage checking station.

"Çantalar, lütfen," the man standing at the table said.

"No Comprendo," Elena said seriously back to the man.

I snickered at her response.

"What?" she combated.

"Spanish?"

Seeing her mistake, she smiled back at me.

"Fine," she said jokingly. "You handle this."

During our discussion, the man in front of us must have realized we spoke only English and went to get another man who could better assist us.

"Open the suitcases," the new man demanded.

I smiled slyly at Elena and turned to face the man.

"He just checked our bags," I said motioning to the officer that had just left. "All you have to do is okay that it has been done and move along to the next person in line."

The man seemed confused for the slightest moment and then understanding crossed his features.

"Fine. There is a diner there," he replied gruffly, pointing in the direction of a shabby building a few yards down the road. "You can go there while we check the others."

I smiled and thanked the man as I picked up our bags and brought them back to the bus.

"That was easy," Elena said as I hoisted our luggage into the storage compartment above our seats.

"What did you expect? When you travel with me everything is easy. I always get what I want."

I added my own innuendo to this last sentence and received an eye roll and a small laugh from Elena. Suddenly her stomach growled fiercely. I looked down as she grabbed her empty stomach. Not needing food as she did, I hadn't even thought of how hungry she must be. We hadn't eaten since they served us food on the plane.

"What do you say we go to the diner that guy was talking about," I suggested. "We have plenty of time before we head out again."

"That sounds _amazing_," Elena said, stressing the last word.

…

It wasn't long before both Elena and I were seated at a small table at the restaurant with doners in front of us. Despite the completely Turkish menus, we had managed to order by pointing to a dish that we had seen others eating. The Turkish doners were filled with beef, pickles, tomatoes and fries all wrapped in a pita like flat bread. Elena quickly put her pickles on the edge of my plate and attacked her food hungrily.

"What?" she asked defensively as I chuckled to myself. "I haven't eaten all day! It's not my fault you don't have to eat anything."

"You forget, dear Elena, that I haven't 'eaten' all day, either. That scrumptious little neck of yours is looking quite delicious."

Elena stopped eating as she clearly pondered my response, judging it for seriousness. I flashed her a mischievous smile to fuel the fire of her thoughts.

After remaining silent for a few moments, Elena spoke again, but this time bringing conversation back to unpleasant subjects that I would rather not talk about.

"Why do you think Claire agreed to help us if she was as angry at you as you seemed to think she was?"

I let out a sigh of annoyance.

"I don't know, Elena," I said. "Maybe because she thought helping me would get her back in my pants."

I regretted my snarky response almost immediately. Elena's eyes fell to her plate and the awkwardness that surrounded us after my earlier story had returned. It was obviously a subject Elena did not want to hear about.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "Claire just isn't one of my favorite topics to talk about."

"Obviously," Elena muttered.

"She probably agreed to help because she thought that seeing her again would change something in me. No doubt she has been following the events in Mystic Falls closely."

"And was she right? Did seeing her again change something?"

Elena sounded as though she was afraid to hear the answer I would give.

"God, no!" I said hurriedly. "Seeing her again was nice until she went psycho and reminded me of what a bitch she could be, but it in no way changed how I feel about her."

Elena's face relaxed a fraction of an inch as I said this.

"She is _obsessive_, Elena," I stressed. "Living with her for over a hundred years was more than I could handle. You have nothing to worry about."

Realizing that she had given me the impression she was worried, her eyes opened wide.

"Oh, I'm not worried," she stressed. "I was only curious."

"Sure you are, Elena," I said laughing, making her even more flustered. "Sure you are."

…

After finishing up our lunch, we had just enough time to get back to the bus and in our seats before the last traveler had their bags checked and we were on our way.

"Ugh." Elena groaned, sitting back in her seat uncomfortably. "I don't think I will ever be able to eat another bite in my life."

"Don't rub it in," I said, longing looking up at the suitcase above me. "What I wouldn't give for a bag of O negative right now. We can't get to the hotel soon enough."

"Half way there!" Elena said a little too cheerfully.

"Half of an eight hour bus ride is really nothing to be excited about," I complained. "Even that old man across from us is starting to look scrumptious."

Elena looked to her left at the old man in question and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Oh, Damon, you can't be that desperate…."

"My point exactly," I returned.

"What does it taste like," she asked, almost musing out loud to herself.

I was caught off-guard by her sudden question. There were so many things Elena hadn't asked or even seemed to wonder about in all the time she had known Stefan and I, and this was certainly one of them.

"As amused as I am at your question, Elena, it couldn't have come at a more inconvenient time," I responded with a smile. "Here I am wanting to sink my teeth into you skin and massacre the rest of the bus and your going to ask me to describe the very thing I want."

Not sure how to take my admission of wanting to slaughter everyone in sight, her smile wavered. I rolled my eyes at her and told her to imagine the most mouth-watering thing she could.

Elena closed her eyes then and thought.

"Hmmm," she thought, opening her eyes only when she had come up with an answer. "Chocolate-covered strawberries."

"Really? Chocolate-covered strawberries? It's a hundred times better than chocolate-covered strawberries."

"I find that hard to believe," she scoffed. "Of course you would say that. Regular food has no real appeal to you. You can't appreciate the true amazingness of fruit slathered in chocolate."

I smiled at the accusation.

"You forget, my dear Elena, that I was at one time human like yourself. I've had plenty of chocolate-covered strawberries, and I promise you that blood as a vampire tastes way better than 'fruit slathered in chocolate' ever did as a human," I said mocking her description of the food.

"Okay, okay," she laughed. "I guess I can accept that. You stick your diet and I'll stick to mine."

"Sounds fair. Now can we please stop talking about this," I begged. "You're making it so much worse."

"Fine," Elena gave in. "What would you like to talk about, Mr. Salvatore? We have a long bus ride to go."

I thought for a moment before deciding on a topic, one that would make Elena uncomfortable, but one that I needed to hear nonetheless.

"It's my turn to ask questions," I started slowly. Elena grew visibly uneasy as I spoke. "I want to know what you were dreaming about on the plane. What was your dream about that caused you to wake up screaming?"

"Damon—" she responded. "I don't want—"

"Uh-uh," I chided. "I told you all about Claire even though I didn't want to. Now it's your turn."

Grudgingly she gave in.

"I've been having these dreams since Stefan left. Dreams about what he's become."

She stopped as though the words she spoke were physically painful to say. Hating the look in her face as she told me, I almost told her to forget about it, but a part of me needed to know this. That part of me let her continue.

"He's always hurting me in the dreams. Saying and doing cruel things. I always think that I can stop him. Make him see that he doesn't want to be this thing. Bring him back to me. But it never works. He just hurts me more. The dreams end when I'm dead."

Elena took a deep shaking breath and tears rimmed her eyes.

"Elena—" I started.

She ignored me and continued, not wanting to break the pace she had set in telling her story.

"On the plane it was different, though. Stefan was hurting me, but you came to save me. You made him stop. But then he was angry and he turned on you." Elena choked out a quiet sob. "He killed you, Damon. He put a stake though your heart."

Elena stopped talking then, not being able to finish. I pulled her close to me and she collapsed into my arms.

"Shh," I whispered, hoping we weren't attracting the attention of the other passengers. "It's all right."

This is why she hadn't wanted to tell me about the dream on the plane. Two of her biggest fears had haunted her in her sleep. One that I had known about: Stefan and the monster he had become. The other one that surprised me even now: my well-being.

"It's not all right, Damon," she whispered, her tears growing silent and soaking through my shirt now. "What if he—? What if you—?"

"Nothing is going to happen to me, Elena," I promised.

I held Elena tightly then, running my fingers through her hair, trying to calm the fears that had surfaced. Kissing the top of her head gently, I knew that my promise

was not one hundred percent guaranteed because I knew would die before I let anything happen her.

**A/N: Well I hope you liked it. Next chapter Damon and Elena will have finally reached their destination. I can't wait for you all to see what is in store for them! Please review. It makes my muse happy, and a happy muse means chapters go up faster : )**


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